Snowing in the Summertime

One of my favorite things about summer has got to be the sno-cones. Whoever thought of taking frozen water and mixing it with radioactive looking syrup is a marketing genius. There's a snow-cone stand I discovered with my friend ChanAn (sounds like shenanigans) called Snow Beach. Apparently it's an Austin staple that I had never heard about...here's how the journey to Sno-Beach unfolded.



It all started with the 105 degree weather. I arrived at work dripping with sweat and looking all around miserable. I run into ChanAn who had been there for a few hours already, so she wasn't sweaty and in fact smelled kind of like a Bath and Bodyworks store. Girls can do that somehow. Anyway, I start complaining about how hot it was and from my bitching and moaning, an idea was formed. "Let's go to Barton Springs!" For those of you who have never been to Barton Springs I have attached an aerial view.

 

I had never been there before, but I knew the water would be colder than an Eskimo homicide victim. (That was a terrible joke, but there are three parts to it. Can you get them all?) Thus we sneak out of work and our journey begins. We decided to pregame for our adventure with some icy treats. This is where Sno-Beach comes in. ChanAn gave me the directions and as I pulled into the Thrift store parking lot little Sno-Beach stand loomed ominously. Here's a picture of it I found on Google images. 

That hipster sno-cone perched on top of the stand is so badass.

All was going well until the nice lady working inside the stand asked us: "What can I get for you guys?" Such a simple question...until you look at the cluster!@#% of options available. They had the run of the mill flavors, such as cherry, grape, orange, lemon-lime, etc. But then they had some really weird sounding ones like "Silver Fox".  All I could think of was George Clooney. I'm not a middle aged woman, so I didn't want that. Once you picked your flavor, you could add whipped cream, ice cream, normal cream, and more! After a relatively awkward silence, the Sno-Beach employee offered to help by asking "What do you like?" Biiiiiig mistake lady. All that came out of our mouths was a conglomeration of fail that went like this: "Kinda sweet...but not really that sweet...but not sour, because um...well...sweet stuff..." It was a train wreck. However, she ended up making us tangerine / red raspberry mixed together. After one bite I made this face.

Seriously, tangerine / red raspberry sno-cones have to be THE NECTAR OF THE GODS. We headed out of Sno-Beach towards Barton Springs. Seven wrong turns and about three times as many expletives later, we arrived. It turns out Barton Springs is the Wal-Mart of beautiful swimming holes. Everyone goes there. The picture I posted earlier was taken during off season. Here's a more accurate representation of Barton Springs during the peak summer season.

On top of lots of people being present, there's a lot of creepy seaweed tentacles that caress your legs as you play in the water. Nonetheless, it was loads of fun and the water was incredibly refreshing. After splashing about, we put out our towels and had a nice sunning session. ChanAn tanned; I fried. The sun was hot, and I had forgotten a water bottle, so after a few hours we decided to head back. Instead of water I stopped by Sno-Beach for round two. Satisfaction was achieved at the maximum level.

This little escape has probably been the most fun I've had in awhile. ChanAn and I skipping work to eat sno-cones and splash around with a bunch of five year olds at summer camp? It's a memory I will truly cherish forever. So - make the most of your days, and be a little spontaneous. Even if all that means is mixing up your sno-cone flavors.

:D
Cam

P.S. - I'm going to Alaska this week. I'll say hi to Sarah Palin for everyone!